Elements of a Southern Atmosphere in O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

Elements of a Southern Atmosphere in O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

1878 WordsMay 16th, 20138 Pages

Georgia Crick
Eng 102 Davis
Short Story Essay Revision
May 6, 2013
Elements of a Southern Atmosphere in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” Though the short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” differ in plot, theme, voice, and many other aspects, both contain similar characters and settings. The authors of these highly acclaimed Southern Gothic works, have skillfully and eloquently created intricate characters and imagery that portray many elements of Southern life. Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” tells of the tragic events that take place during a family’s road trip to Tennessee, which ultimately ends in their unsightly demise at the hands of a notorious…show more content…

For example, he writes, “now Miss Emily had gone to join the representatives of those august names where they lay in the cedar-bemused cemetery among the ranked and anonymous graves of Union and Confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson” (244). Faulkner is describing the cemetery at which Miss Emily is being laid to rest, which is filled with the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fought in the Civil War; a war which is arguably the single most defining and important event in Southern history. In both “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “A Rose for Emily,” the authors portray primary female leads which depict many typical and sometimes stereotypical, Southern ideals and values. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find, “the lead character, the Grandmother, epitomizes the stereotype of an elderly southern woman. O’Connor skillfully conveys the Grandmother’s superficiality by describing the over-the-top outfit she wears on the day of the trip, writing, “Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady” (406). The Grandmother assigns value to being a “lady” among all other virtues, placing the physical appearance of herself and others of the utmost importance. The grandmother is also nostalgic of the past, and constantly reminisces about the

The Misfit in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find
I feel that the Grandmother in the story 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' suffers from psychological conditions. She does not care at all about anyone but herself. I feel that she may even be narcissistic. It is ironic because she would be expected to look out for her family. The Cambridge Dictionary defines narcissism as 'too much interest in and admiration for your own physical appearance and/or your own abilities' It is ironic because…

O’Conner’s story, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the main focus is that the grandma is old fashioned and uses this to her advantage in telling stories and trying not to get killed. In William Faulkner’s story, A Rose for Emily, it focuses on Emily who is also old fashioned but can’t get with the present time and keeps holding onto the past. Both have morbid endings because of their lack of letting go on past events, and use their archaic habits in different ways. In A Rose for Emily, Emily shows multiple…

Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find is one of the most well-known short stories in American history. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a disturbing short story that exemplifies grace in extremity as well as the threat of an intruder. The story tells of an elderly grandmother and her family who embark on a road trip to Florida. The grandmother is a stubborn old woman with a low sense of morality. While on the trip, the grandmother convinces her son to take a detour which results in a broken…

When one first begins to read A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor, one is assailed by the humorous petty grievances of a mother living under her son’s roof disrespected by her grandchildren and lonely in a house filled with people, clutching at memories of days long passed similar to the Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie. As the story unfolds one begins to see the indifference of Bailey toward his family in general and especially his mother—rightly so, as the ‘old lady’…

Southern gothic is a type of literature that focuses on the harsh conflicts of violence and racism, which is observed in the perspective of black and white individuals. Some of the most familiar southern authors are William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. One author in particular, Flannery O’Connor, is a remarkable author, who directly reflects upon southern grotesque within her two short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation.” These two short stories are very similar…

“succumbing to the divine through violence . . . is immediate and irreparable” (O’Connor 483). By utilizing the element of setting, to surround the reader in Southern culture and heritage; as well as her blunt use of foreshadowing, to keep the action rising; and a heavy amount of irony, to create a slight comedic relief; O’Connor writes the suspenseful short-story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and shows how the theme of Redemption – in a religious sense – is woven throughout the story, and shown by…

The Dysfunctional: Psychoanalysis of Flannery O’Connor’s
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
Murder of women, children, and even a baby is a harsh image used by Flannery O’Connor in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The imagery is an effective literary device used to convey ironic tragedy, the struggle of female characters, and the family unit. The story follows a family on a trip to Florida when their journey, interrupted by an ill-fated detour resulting in a car wreck, ends in murder after they cross paths…

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as “understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators…

literary work produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. It has many forms and different kinds of authors within its genre. One American author, Flannery O'Connor, is known for her Southern Gothic style of writing. In her short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" O'Connor uses the Southern Gothic style, brought on by her background, to establish various ties between the characters and their actions.
Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25, 1925. Growing…

“A Rose for Emily” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
The writing style of southern gothic uses many different techniques such as macabre, ironic events that look at the values of the south. Two writers that are famous for the southern gothic style are William Faulkner and Flannery O’ Conner. Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” depicts a well-rounded woman who is discovered to have a rotting corpse of her husband in her bedroom, and O’Conner’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, that…